Forging apparatus



, y 1938. c.vw. DAWSON FORGING APPARATUS Filed April 21, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 llll lllll ll |.D..l| 1 OF IN VENTOR.

W /IMQWV- MIA/[5515s add/ Maw. fl PM ATTORNEYS V Patented May 10, 1938 2,116,670

UITE STATES PATENT OFFHCE FORGING APPARATUS Charles W. Dawson, Oakmont, Pa, assignor to Woodings-Verona Tool Works, Verona, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application April 21, 1937, Serial No. 138,202

7 Claims. (Cl. 29-34) This invention relates to apparatus for forging vided with a depending integral tongue 6 that from metal platesrail clips having a curved body projects into a spike hole I in the tie plate. The whose ends are adapted to engage a rail base clip is clamped into position by a nut 8 and bolt flange and a tie plate, and which is provided 9 extending through the hole Ill formed in the 5. intermediately with a depending tongue adapted clip by tongue 6. The bolt is reduced in cross to project into a spike hole in the tie plate. section by flattening one side so that it can ex- It is among the objects of this invention to tend through the tie plate hole beside tongue 6, provide forging apparatus by which rail clips of and its lower end is provided with a lug ii that this type are formed in a rapid and economical projects beneath the tie plate.

manner. In the apparatus for forming this clip, as 16 The preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in Fig. 1, a generally rectangular frame [2 illustrated in the accompanying drawings in is provided at one end with an inwardly extendwhich Fig. 1 is a plan view of my forging appaing male die 13 mounted in fixed position. Coratus; Fig. 2 is a plan view of a rail clip forged operating with this die is a female die l4 carried by this apparatus; Fig. 3 is a vertical section by a frame-like carriage l6 reciprocable length- 15 through a rail and tie showing such a clip in railwise within the frame between guide plates ll retaining position; Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are plan, side secured to the frame. This carriage is moved and end views, respectively, of the female die used towardthe male die by means of cams l8 rigidly in this forging apparatus; Figs. 7, 8 and 9 are mounted on a shaft [9 journaled in the rear of plan, side and end views, respectively, of the male the frame and driven through a gear 2| and 20 die; and Fig. 10 is a horizontal section through pinion 22 by a motor 23. The cams engage rollthe dies and a punch showing them in clip-form ers 24 journaled on stub shafts Z6 projecting ining position. wardly from the sides of the carriage. To move According to this invention there are prothe carriage away from the male die its rear porvided a male die and .a female die reciprocable tion is provided with inwardly projecting stub 25 relative to each other toward and away from shafts 21 on which are journaled rollers 28 that each other. The cooperating opposed faces of are engaged by a set of cams 29 rigidly mounted the dies are of a contour corresponding to that on shaft l9. The carriage is thus positively reof the body of a rail clip to be formed from a ciprocated by the cams in both directions.

30 metal plate disposed between them. The plate Rigidly mounted in frame I2 at one side of the 30 is preferably sheared from an elongate blank dies is a combined support and shear blade 30 by a shear blade and a cooperating edge of one across which an elongate metal blank Si is fed of the dies. The two dies are provided with to a position between the dies. The amount that aligned passages extending through their opthe blank can be fed ahead is limited by a stop 32 35 posed faces and slidably receiving a punch by mounted in the frame at the opposite side of the 35 which a tongue is punched from the plate and dies. The edge of the female die adjacent shear bent into the male die passage. Preferably, the blade 39 serves as the movable blade of the shear male die is provided with a curved surface in which cuts a metal plate off from the blank each the path of part of the punch and over which time the female die is driven toward the male 40 the tongue is curved by the punch. The relative die. Preferably, as best shown in Figs. 5, 8 and 40 reciprocable movements of the punch and dies 10, the end surface 33 of the female die immeare so timed that the plate is first bent into the diately adjacent its cutting edge is flat and shape of a clip body, and then while it is clamped adapted to engage, or substantially engage, a between the dies, the tongue is produced by the similar fiat surface 34 on the opposing face of punch. the male die when the two dies are brought 45 Referring to the drawings, Fig. 2 is a plan view together. At such times the remaining portions of the type of rail clip I which is formed by the 35 and 37 of the opposed faces of the two dies apparatus disclosed herein. A side view of this are spaced apart a distance substantially equal clip and the manner in which it connects a rail to the thickness of the clip formed between them,

so 2 to a tie plate 3 are shown in Fig. 3. The clip and have a contour corresponding to that of the has a longitudinally curved body 4, the portion body of the clip, as clearly shown in Fig. 10. of which overlying the rail base flange is but It is anotherfeature of this invention that my slightly curved while the remaining portion is apparatus is so formed and constructed that as curved downwardly rather sharply to engage the soon as the dies curve a plate into the shape of as tie plate. Intermediate its ends the clip is prothe body of the clip, tongue 6 is punched from it.

Accordingly, the two dies are provided with aligned passages 38 and 39 extending therethrough and through the central portions of the opposed ends of the dies, as shown in Figs. 4 to 10. Reciprocable in these passages is a punch 4i that is actuated by a cross-head 42 slidably mounted in carriage IS in carriage guide plates I1. This cross-head is reciprocated lengthwise of the carriage by a link 63 pivoted at one end in the cross-head and provided at its opposite end with a ring 44 encircling drive shaft I9 and an eccentric 46 rigidly mounted thereon. The position of the eccentric is so disposed relative to the cams that the punch is not caused to strike the body of the clip until it is tightly gripped between the two dies, whereby proper punching of the clip is assured.

As shown in Fig. 10, the end portion of the punch is narrowed to about half the width of the remainder of the punch, whereby a shoulder 41 is formed which is preferably arcuate. Likewise, passage 39 in the male die is narrower than female die passage 38 so as to leave a portion in the path of the punch shoulder. This portion has a surface 48 corresponding in contour to that of the shoulder and merging into face 31 so that the punch does not sever the tongue from the body of the clip but merely curves it over surface 58 and bends it down into passage 39.

When the female die and punch are withdrawn from the formed clip, the clip is preferably dislodged from the male die by a U-shape rod 49, one end of which is slidably disposed in male die passage 39 and the other end of which is connected to carriage I8. As the carriage backs away from the male die, the free end of rod 49 strikes the end of tongue 6 and frees the clip from the male die, whereupon the clip drops from between the dies so that blank 3! can be fed forward again until it strikes stop 32. The shearing and forging cycle is then repeated.

With this apparatus the forging operation is automatic and is carried out quickly and in an inexpensive manner. Consequently, the cost of manufacturing the rail clips disclosed herein is low.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes I have explained the principle and mode of operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

I. Rail clip forging apparatus comprising a male die and a female die adapted to be reciprocated relative to each other towards and away from each other and being provided with cooperating opposed faces corresponding in contour to the body of the clip to be formed from a plate disposed between them, said dies being provided with aligned passages extending through said faces, and a punch reciprocable in said passages and formed for punching a tongue from said plate and bending it into the male die passage.

2. Rail clip forging apparatus comprising a male die and a female die adapted to be reciprocated relative to each other towards and away from each other and being provided with cooperating opposed faces corresponding in contour to the body of the clip to be formed from a plate disposed between them, said dies being provided with aligned passages extending through said faces, a punch reciprocable in said passages and formed for punching a tongue from said plate and bending it into the male die passage, and a portion of the male die being in the path of said punch and having a curved surface over which said tongue is curved by the punch.

3. Rail clip forging apparatus comprising a male die and a female die adapted to be reciprocated relative to each other towards and away from each other and being provided with cooperating opposed faces corresponding in contour to the body of the clip to be formed from a plate disposed between them, said dies being provided with aligned passages extending through said faces, and a punch reciprocable in the female die passage and having a narrowed end portion adapted to enter the male die passage for punching a tongue from said plate and bending it into the male die passage, the punch having a shoulder at the inner end of said narrowed end portion, and a portion of the male die beside said narrowed end portion of the punch and in the path of said shoulder having a surface over which said tongue is bent by the punch.

4. Rail clip forging apparatus comprising a male die and a female die adapted to be reciprocated relative to each other toward and away from each other, a shear blade disposed at one side of the dies, a portion of one of the dies being adapted to cooperate with the shear blade to shear a metal plate fed between the dies, the cooperating opposed faces of the dies corresponding in contour to the body of the clip to be formed from said plate, the dies being provided with aligned passages extending through said faces, and a punch reciprocable in said passages and formed for punching a tongue from the plate and bending it into the male die passage.

5. Rail clip forging apparatus comprising a male die and a female die adapted to be reciprocated relative to each other toward and away from each other, a shear blade disposed at one side of the dies, an edge of one of the dies being adapted to cooperate with the shear blade to shear a metal plate fed between the dies, the cooperating opposed faces of the dies corresponding in contour to the body of the clip to be formed from said plate, the dies being provided with aligned passages extending through said faces, a punch reciprocable in said passages and formed for punching a tongue from the plate and bending it into the male die passage, and a portion of the male die being in the path of said punch and having a surface over which said tongue is bent by the punch.

6. Rail clip forging apparatus comprising a male die and a female die adapted to be reciprocated relative to each other toward and away from each other, a shear blade disposed at one side of the dies, the opposed edge portions of the dies adjacent said blade having substantially flat surfaces adapted to substantially engage each other, one of said edge portions being adapted to cooperate with the shear blade to shear a metal plate fed between the dies, the opposed faces of the male and female dies between said flat surfaces and the opposite side of the dies being longitudinally convex and longitudinally concave, respectively, the dies being provided with aligned passages extending through said faces, and a punch reciprocable in said passages and formed for punching a tongue from said plate and bending it into the male die passage.

'7. Rail clip forging apparatus comprising a 10 provided with aligned passages, a punch, means for reciprocating the punch in said passages to punch a tongue from said plate after the dies have forged it into shape, said tongue being bent into the male die passage by the punch, and means reciprocable in the male die passage for engaging the end of said tongue and separating the clip from the male die after the punch and female die are withdrawn.

CHARLES W. DAWSON. 

